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Running a Server |
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No. You can use the Servers listed by the built in Directories and use Jamulus without running a Server or choose a third party hosting service. If you just want an undisturbed session, use the soloing technique described on the Tips and Tricks page. If you decide you cannot use any of the Servers listed by the built in Directories, you may be able to use a Server (either Registered in a Custom Directory, or Unregistered - see Server Types) hosted by a third party. Doing so will save you the trouble of setting one up yourself.
While setting up a Server isn't difficult, it's a good idea to read the following background information to avoid some problems:
The capability of the Server itself (and the network it's on) is NOT the main determinant of the quality of a Jamulus session!
Usually, problems are on the Client side and should be fixed there. Have a look at the Troubleshooting page if needed.
However, various problems can also arise when setting up Servers - especially when run on a low-bandwidth home connection. It's usually fine to have less than 5 players on a slower-speed home connection (eg 10 Mbit/s down and 1 Mbit/s up). You can read more about network requirements at different quality settings here.
Consider using a cloud host, not your home internet connection, to get better ping times if you're having problems.
- Any Server should have at least 1.6GHz CPU frequency and 1GB RAM
- Running a Server may require you to adjust any firewalls running on or outside of your machine or cloud host.
- Running an Unregistered Server at home will require you to port forward on your router. When running a Registered Server, port forwarding should not be necessary in most cases, but it's advisable to do so because some networks may not work properly with Jamulus in its default mode.
- Jamulus only has limited IPv6 support which needs to be enabled with a command line argument on the Client and Server. (There are plans to expand IPv6 support.)
You can run your Server in different ways (either at home or on a 3rd party host):
Your Server will be listed in a Directory. By default, Jamulus has a list of built-in Directories that Clients can connect to. If you register with one of these, anyone can then discover and connect to your Server. You can also have your Server listed on a Custom Directory, if that better meets your needs.
This is the default when starting a Server for the first time. Unregistered Servers are not listed by Directories, so only musicians who know your Server's address to will be able to connect to it. This is useful because Jamulus does not let you control who can connect to a Server.
If you are running an unregistered server behind a home internet connection, you might need to enable port forwarding as described below.
If you want to run a number of Servers, possibly also behind a firewall or on a LAN, you may want to run your Server as a Directory. Examples include online events, music associations, sectional rehearsals or music lessons for schools.
To run a Directory read this guide
Most people run Jamulus as a "pure" Server on hardware without audio (e.g. on a 3rd party/cloud host) running Linux. The following steps assume you are familiar with the command line and Debian/Ubuntu or similar distribution using systemd. To run a server on Windows or on the desktop with a graphical user interface, see this section.
If you want to run a Server on a Raspberry Pi (or a different armhf/arm64 debian-based device), you will need to download the .deb files for 32 bit armhf or 64 bit arm64, not the default amd64 ones you'd use on an Intel/AMD based machine.
- Download the [latest headless (amd64) .deb file]({{ site.download_root_link }}{{ site.download_file_names.deb-headless }}) or, if you use a Raspberry Pi etc. download the [latest armhf .deb file]({{ site.download_root_link }}{{ site.download_file_names.deb-headless-armhf }}) or the [latest arm64 .deb file]({{ site.download_root_link }}{{ site.download_file_names.deb-headless-arm64 }})
- Update apt to make sure you have a current list of standard packages:
sudo apt update - Install the Jamulus package:
sudo apt install ./{{ site.download_file_names.deb-headless }}or for RasPi etc. armhf:sudo apt install ./{{ site.download_file_names.deb-headless-armhf }}; arm64:sudo apt install ./{{ site.download_file_names.deb-headless-arm64 }} - Enable the headless Server process via systemd:
sudo systemctl enable jamulus-headless - Add your desired command line options to the
ExecStartline in the systemd service file by runningsudo systemctl edit --full jamulus-headless(By default you will be running an Unregistered Server). - Reload the systemd files
sudo systemctl daemon-reloadand restart the headless Server:sudo systemctl restart jamulus-headless - Check all is well with
systemctl status jamulus-headless(hitqto get back to the command prompt).
You can control Jamulus with the systemctl command. For example, to stop the Server cleanly:
sudo systemctl stop jamulus-headless
To upgrade your Server, just repeat the steps above.
The following minimum setup is required to run a Registered Server:
jamulus --nogui --server \
--directoryserver genreServer:port \
--serverinfo "yourServerName;yourCity;[country ID]"
Note: Semicolon and newline characters are not allowed in yourServerName and yourCity within the --serverinfo argument
To register with one of the Directories built into the Jamulus Client, replace genreServer:port in the example above with one of the following options:
| Genre | Server Address |
|---|---|
| Any Genre 1 | anygenre1.jamulus.io:22124 |
| Any Genre 2 | anygenre2.jamulus.io:22224 |
| Any Genre 3 | anygenre3.jamulus.io:22624 |
| Genre Rock | rock.jamulus.io:22424 |
| Genre Jazz | jazz.jamulus.io:22324 |
| Genre Classical/Folk | classical.jamulus.io:22524 |
| Genre Choral/Barbershop | choral.jamulus.io:22724 |
You can also specify a Directory in the same way from the command line, providing the Server Address in the same format.
If you wish to run a Directory please see this guide.
Jamulus will log to the system log file if you left the StandardOutput=journal setting in the unit file.
To view the log, use journalctl (to exit press Ctrl-C). For example, to read the system log file, filtered for the Jamulus service:
journalctl -f -u jamulus-headless
When using the recording function with the -R command line option, if the Server receives a SIGUSR1 signal during a recording, it will start a new recording in a new Directory. SIGUSR2 will recording enabled on/off.
To send these signals using systemd, create the following two .service files in /etc/systemd/system, calling them something appropriate (e.g. jamulusTogglerec.service).
Note: You will need to save recordings to a path outside of the jamulus home Directory, or remove ProtectHome=true from your systemd unit file (be aware that doing so is however a potential security risk).
For turning recording on or off (depending on the current state):
[Unit]
Description=Toggle recording state of Jamulus Server
Requisite=Jamulus-Server
[Service]
Type=oneshot
ExecStart=/bin/systemctl kill -s SIGUSR2 Jamulus-Server
For starting a new recording:
[Unit]
Description=Start a new recording on Jamulus Server
Requisite=Jamulus-Server
[Service]
Type=oneshot
ExecStart=/bin/systemctl kill -s SIGUSR1 Jamulus-Server
Note: The Jamulus service name in the ExecStart line needs to be the same as the .service file name you created when setting systemd to control your Jamulus Server. So in this example it would be Jamulus-Server.service
Run sudo systemctl daemon-reload to register them for first use.
Now you can run these with the systemctl command, for example:
sudo systemctl start jamulusTogglerec (assuming you named your unit file jamulusTogglerec.service)
You can see the result of these commands if you run systemctl status jamulus, or by viewing the logs.
Jamulus can be run in Server mode from the desktop. This gives you a graphical user interface to control most of the settings.
- Windows users - Use the "Jamulus Server" icon in the Windows Start menu.
- macOS users - Double-click the "Jamulus Server" icon in Applications (assuming you put the files from the install there as per these instructions).
- Linux users - Launch the "Jamulus Server" shortcut. Or you can open a terminal window (
CTRL+ALT+ton Debian and related distros), typejamulus -sand hit return.
None: By default, you will not be connected to a Directory and will be running in unregistered mode. Read these instructions to have other people connect to your Server in this mode.
Genre: To allow other people to see your Server on one of the Directories built into the Client, select your desired genre Directory. You should see a confirmation message saying whether your Server has registered successfully. If not, and you leave your Server running, it will keep trying to register until a free slot becomes available.
Custom: This allows you to specify a custom directory on which to be listed. See the "Options" tab for the Custom Directory address you want to use.
To run your Server as a Directory, you need to set the Custom Directory address as localhost or 127.0.0.1 and set the "Genre" to "Custom". Read this guide for further details.
When running as a Registered Server this displays the Server's name, city and country so that other users can easily identify it in the Directory listing.
The text entered here appears to all users when they join the Server (the chat window will open automatically for them). HTML is also supported.
This sets the path to where the Server's recordings will be stored. With this path set, the "Enable Jam Recorder" function in the Server Setup tab will make recording start once the first person connects to the Server, and stops when the last person leaves. Use the "New Recording" button to create a new sub-directory in which the recordings will be stored from then on. Note that Recordings are per track in Audacity .lof format and REAPER .rpp. Open the respective files to listen to them in those applications.
Note: When your Server is recording, Clients will display a message that recording is on.
Leave this field empty unless you need to list your Server on a Custom Directory or run a Directory.
Leave this field empty unless you need to run your Server as a Directory. When in use, this holds the list of registered Servers whilst restarting the Directory. This prevents the server list appearing "empty" until the Servers re-register.
This option uses small differences in sound arrival time between the two ears. It produces a stereo effect similar to natural human hearing when compared to normal "volume" panning.
Windows users - If you want the Server to start automatically on system start, enable the corresponding check box.
When the Server is running, the operating system will show an icon in the system tray or status area to represent whether the Server is active:
Most common functions in Jamulus can be set using the GUI, but these and others can also be set using options given in a terminal window. Exactly how you do this will depend on your operating system.
For example on Windows, to use a specific settings file, right-click on the Jamulus shortcut and choose "Properties" > Target. Add the necessary arguments to Jamulus.exe:
"C:\Program Files\Jamulus\Jamulus.exe" --serverbindip 192.168.0.100For macOS, start a Terminal window and run Jamulus with the desired options like this:
/Applications/Jamulus.app/Contents/MacOS/Jamulus --serverbindip 192.168.0.100Note: Command line options will set the Server's defaults at startup. You can override them with their corresponding GUI controls while the Server is running.
{% include_relative Include-Server-Commands.md %}
{% include_relative Include-Shared-Commands.md %}
It is highly recommended to test your Server by registering it on one of the built-in Directories first so as to narrow down any subsequent problems in unregistered mode.
If you set up your server at home, you will probably need to change some settings in your router/firewall:
People from outside your home network will not be able to see things inside it. To let external Jamulus clients connect to your server, you need to set up port forwarding in your Router's settings. The exact setup differs for every router. For help see your Router's documentation or portforward.com.
Note: The default port for the current version of Jamulus is UDP (not TCP) port 22124. You will usually forward the port 22124 from outside your network to the port 22124 of the machine running the Server.
Note: Your home router may change the IP address of the machine you're running your Server on. Depending on your router, you might need to give this machine a static IP address (often under DHCP settings of your router).
To allow others to connect to your Server from the internet, get your external (WAN) IP address e.g. by using Google and give it to them.
You yourself should connect using the local network (LAN) address of the machine the Server is running on. If you are running a Client on the same machine as your Server, that would be localhost or 127.0.0.1.
Most domestic internet connections change their external IP address after a short period. To avoid problems with this, you might want to set up "dynamic DNS" to get a static (sub-)domain you can share with others. Please research how to do that for your specic set up. Your router might support some "dynamic DNS" providers out of the box. If this is not the case, set up a dynamic DNS client as described by the dynamic DNS provider you chose.
Jamulus client can connect to a server on a non-standard port by specifying the port as part of the server address.
myjamserver.mydomain.com:12345
However, a server administrator may want to give users a simple address without the port information.
myjamserver.mydomain.com
For this case, the port information can be acquired from DNS SRV records ("service" records).
If Jamulus client finds an SRV record associated with the Jamulus server's domain, it will use the information in the SRV record to refine the endpoint host:port destination. This all happens without any special input from the user or any extra configuration of the Jamulus server (other than specifying which port to listen on). If no SRV records are found on the DNS server, Jamulus client will attempt to connect to Jamulus server as specified in the connection window.
SRV records are created by the administrator of the domain being used to host the Jamulus server. The SRV records are added through the administration portal (or API if available) of the domain's DNS hosting service. The format of the SRV record entry can vary by DNS hosting service but will generally look something like this.
_service._proto.name. ttl IN SRV priority weight port target
# or, more specifically
_jamulus._udp.example.com. 60 IN SRV 0 5 22333 jamulus.example.com
See the documentation of your DNS provider for instructions on creating SRV records for that provider.
Note that headless Servers do not use .ini files. All configuration is given as command line options.
{% include_relative Include-Backing-Up.md %}
If you are having other problems, see this guide.